Camp Blog

Sunday, July 25

DATE: July 25, 2021

Shavua tov!

We had a beautiful Shabbat in Machane Stone! Shabbat began with all the cohorts davening together in Indoor World, outside as the sun was setting. The scene could not have been more picturesque. The zemirot and dancing took place there too, so we could all be together in a COVID-safe way. The fresh air and wide space gave our singing and dancing a particularly beautiful ruach, even more spirited than usual.

On Shabbat, all chanichim also enjoyed their first meeting with their chavruta (or study partner). The high staff-camper ratio at Machane Stone gives us a unique opportunity, each tzevet member and madrich/a is paired with two campers to learn with, after lunch, Shabbat afternoon. It is a highlight of the week for so many!

This morning, in daily shiur, the chanichim studied the idea that “the Torah is not in heaven,” that the Torah is accessible to everyone, and that we, human beings, are responsible for interpreting God’s Torah. Throughout the day, the chanichim witnessed the disagreement between Rabbi Eliezer and the Chachamim (the Sages) about the “Tanur shel Akhnai” — a famous Talmudic disagreement about the status of an oven. This culminated at Shekem, with the chanichim cheering “if we are right, let the walls of the Beit Midrash come down,” and the “walls” came down!

It was a full day of exciting and unique activities, including rollerskating, beach volleyball, and some of the chanichim‘s first visits to “the ancient village of Tzipori” — more details on Machane Stone’s in-house ancient village in coming days.

Machal hiked six miles to the Allegheny River, and finished with a leisurely ride on inner tubes down the river, followed by a camp out.

Kaytana focused on challah today! They baked their own challot, and learned about the mitzvah of hafrashat challah with scholar Bracha Krohn, and they designed and painted their own challah boards!

An amazing start to the new week!

Registration for summer 2025 opens 10/1/24 for returning families, 11/1/24 for new families.

Please contact Randi Mashmoor with any questions at:

or 440-465-5486. Thank You!

All Meet the Director events have been postponed until further notice. Thank you.

Staff application opens on 11/17.

New camper application opens on 11/1. Returning campers can register now.

Available positions for Summer 2024 are very limited! Click on the button below to apply.

We are no longer accepting applications from current 11th graders.

For questions, please email:

Registration for summer 2023 is now closed. There are a few select spots remaining.
Please contact Randi Mashmoor at:

or 440-465-5486. Thank You!

About the Chanukah Raffle

Dear Camp Stone Community,

It is an incredible feeling to reconnect with everyone once again at the beginning of our 2021 camp season.

We are writing to you today, first and foremost, to express tremendous gratitude.

Hakarat HaTov, literally “recognizing the good”, is an important and fundamental principle in our community. We, at Camp Stone, want to express our Hakarat HaTov to everyone receiving this email for your unwavering support, especially this past summer. Whether you provided financial assistance through your donated tuition dollars, participated in Indoor World, or connected with the Camp Stone community in other ways, together we had an incredibly successful, albeit different, summer experience.

There is no substitute for being in Sugar Grove, Pennsylvania, and this summer, B’ezrat Hashem, we will be back at Camp Stone, in person, in full force.

To achieve that goal, we must continue to ensure the financial success of our home away from home that we all know and love so deeply. The logo on top, featuring the slogan “Stone. Forever.” also features a Ner Tamid, an “eternal flame.” The year 1969, etched into the logo, is the year camp was founded. Symbolically, the overall image represents the idea that Camp Stone began many years ago and must endure forever, always burning brightly, and always an integral part of our collective conscience.

On that note, we are excited to announce that our annual Chanukah Campaign will be a raffle taking place over all 8 nights of Chanukah with prizes for both campers and parents/alumni!!

Please go back to the web page  to purchase raffle tickets and help us achieve 100% participation from our entire camp community!

Looking forward to being in touch with all of you in the near future.

Sincerely,

Yakov & Estee, Co-Directors